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To their own devices: Pablo Larrain's 'The Club'

September 15, 2010

The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting longer. I drive home now, after work, and am left with what feels like a sliver of sunlight. Cooler days are upon us, which would suggest that those whose fate relies on a layer of ice should be growing braver by the day, more adventurous, and more confident, but in Atlanta that's not the case.

The Braves just lost two out of three games to the last place Washington Nationals and haven't won a series in the month of September. There are cracks in the pitching--Jair Jurrjens hasn't been the same since blowing a nine run lead against the Rockies and has his highest ERA, 4.64, since his rookie year in Detroit, making the 2.60 mark he posted last year look more and more like an aberration. Tim Hudson got rocked by Albert Pujols his last time out, and Derek Lowe appears to be the only one with ice water running through his veins. It's not so much that the sky is falling, but that the ground beneath this team is collapsing.

The Phillies, the Giants, and the Rockies all appear to be swinging away with their hammers, but the Braves appear incapable of wielding such might, maybe it's perception, but the reality is there are holes in left and center field, and Derek Lee has been a constant reminder that Fred McGriff should indeed be anointed with sainthood.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played. There are still six games alone to be played against the Phillies alone, and nothing is out of reach. And there is still the Bobby Cox's last season motivational factor. These players should be inspired, but what if inspiration gives way to nerves. Without Chipper Jones in the lineup, who on this Braves team even knows how these late season charges are supposed to be mounted? More and more, I fear Bobby Cox's last games as a manager will play out as if he were a man, made out of red plastic, with his knees rattling together, waiting for the last cube to fall.

And the worst part about it is no one is even there to see. Do kids even play board games anymore, or is it all Wii and computer games? It could be a warm winter.

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comments:

I predict both the Braves and the Giants make the playoffs. Hopefully we play each other in the first round. I hate the Braves and I want Bobby Cox's last game to be a loss at the hands of the Giants. Retribution for '93.